


Sibling Bonding is Overrated

by mac_haze



Category: Shameless (TV), Shameless (US)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-28
Updated: 2013-03-28
Packaged: 2017-12-06 17:58:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/738502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mac_haze/pseuds/mac_haze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mandy goes to find Mickey and figures out a bit more than she bargained for. She was bound to figure out Mickey and Ian sooner or later. Set sometime after Mickey beat Ian up in 3x09.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sibling Bonding is Overrated

**Author's Note:**

> My impatience over not seeing a scene between Mandy and Mickey where she figures everything out has reached its limit. This is my take on what may happen.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, I just play with 'em

“What’s the occasion?”

“What?”

Mickey took another pull from the bottle of whiskey he was nursing and gave Mandy a look when she came in through the front door.

“You’ve been wasted for the past week and a half. Either you’re that fucking excited to marry the dumb bitch you knocked up, or it’s something else.”

Mandy grabbed the bottle, despite the fierce scowl Mickey gave her. She took a sip and flopped down on the couch next to him.

“Fuck that bitch,” Mickey sighed.

Mandy snorted, “Looks like you already did.”

“Fuck off,” Mickey grabbed the bottle back. “Why are you here? Sick of playing house with Gallagher?”

“He’s being a douche bag. Besides, the only reason I’m here is for Ian.”

Ian’s name caught Mickey’s attention.

“What’s he done now?”

“Fuck if I know. Someone beat the shit out of him though. I wanted to see if you still had any Vicodin or Percocets you could spare? ” Mandy took the bottle back with little resistance.

“Yeah I do.” 

Mickey quieted. 

Then:

“Think he’ll be alright?”

Mandy gave him a look, “Since when do you care?”

“Fuck you,” Mickey grabbed the bottle back and took a long pull from it.

And that’s when Mandy noticed how swollen her brother’s knuckles were. Granted Mickey’s knuckles were always a bit cut up. But the dark blue and green on his knuckles were just as bright as the colors of Ian’s face. Realization began to set in. She took a minute to look, really look, at Mickey. He was clearly upset but was trying to detach himself. It was a look she saw on her brother more often than she’d care to admit.

“Holy fuck,” her mouth dropped open as she full on stared at Mickey.

“The fuck you looking at?”

“It’s you.”

Everything suddenly made horrifying sense. All of the times Mickey and Ian worked together, Ian asking how to tell if a guy liked him, and the icing on the cake was Ian harping on knowing the details about Mickey’s impending nuptials and how upset he’d seemed because of it.

“What’s me?” Mickey looked at her like she was crazy.

“How long, Mickey?”

Mickey went to get up, clearly unwilling to answer any of her questions. Before he could get his feet under him, Mandy tackled him back down.

“Get off me.”

If Mickey hadn’t been as drunk as he was he would have been able to toss her off no problem.

Mandy threw her weight down, pinning him to the couch.

“Tell me!”

Her death glare was almost as badass as his was. He wanted to scoff at her, throw some asinine comment in her face but the concern he saw in her eyes was more than a little unnerving, and it threw him off his game. He could feel the fight leaving him, his panic deflating along with the heavy sigh he let loose, his entire body sinking into the couch cushions.

He looked away from her then, and must have taken a bit too long to respond because Mandy’s grip lightened even though she didn’t move off of him. 

She said: “Mick, just fucking tell me.”

“What do you want to know?”

He finally dragged his eyes to meet hers. 

“Everything.”

Mandy said the word like it was the simplest request in the fucking world. Mickey’s heart pounded as he considered what kind of reaction he would get from his sister. Mandy was different from the rest of the family—just like him. And, Mickey figured, if she was willing to be Ian’s beard and best friend, maybe she wouldn’t mind having a gay brother. 

“I’m gay,” he was all defiance.

That was the first time he had admitted it out loud. The first time he hadn’t felt he was risking his life by saying the words. 

Mandy stared at him long and hard. He stared back. After awhile, she let him up. She moved so she was facing him, her back up against the armrest.

“How long have you known?”

Mickey snorted and took another swig of whiskey, “I’ve always known.”

Without warning, Mandy hauled off and socked him as hard as she could.

“The fuck was that for?” Mickey exclaimed, rubbing his arm where she had hit him.

“You could have told me!”

“Well how was I supposed to know that?” he shot back, glaring at her. 

“You’re the guy.”

He wasn’t too fond of the accusation in her words. 

“You keep fucking saying that.”

Mickey knew where she was going with that train of thought but was desperately trying to avoid it.

“You and Ian,” she replied impatiently.

Might as well go for broke at this point.

“Yeah, me and Ian.”

He laid his entire fucking hand out in front of her to see because he knew he didn’t have any bluff left in him, especially when it came to how fucking persistent Mandy was when she wanted to be.

“What?” he eyed her warily when he saw a devilish smirk appear on her face.

“Are you a top or a bottom?”

“Fuck this.”

He went to get up but she grabbed his arm and yanked him back down.

“Jesus Christ, learn how to take a joke!” she laughed.

“Any more of those fucking questions and I’m done.”

“Fine. Jeez, you’re such a girl,” Mandy teased.

He tried sneering at her but failed.

“Fuck off.”

As if realizing she should be mad at him, she reeled back and hit him again. 

“How could you do that to him?”

She slapped him, palms open and stinging where they connected with his skin. 

“I had to!” he snarled, shoving her hard enough she nearly fell to the floor.

“The hell you did!” she bit back. “You need to apologize.”

From the tone of her voice, it sounded like she had made up his mind for him. He was so damn tired of everyone making decisions that should be his. First, Terry made the decision for him to get married to the Russian whore who raped him (something he only admitted to himself); then, Ian made the decision that Mickey was in love with him. And now Mandy made the decision that he was going to apologize for actions and words that he would never even condescend to think Ian would forgive him for. The infuriating truth that his life was spinning wildly out of his control threatened to choke him and this time when Mandy tried to stop him from rising he shoved her out of the way. 

“Fuck this! You will not make decisions for me! Everyone seems to think they know better but they know fuck all, alright!”

He rose from the couch and made for his room. He almost made it when he was slammed into the wall. He had learned a long time ago not to underestimate his little sister and yet somehow he forgot more often than not.

“Fuck, Mandy!” he yelled.

“I’m not done talking to you yet!”

She turned him around so they were face to face, her cheeks flushed with anger.

“Too damn bad!”

He tried to push her back, but the combination of alcohol and Mandy throwing the weight of her persistence into him kept him where he was. Mickey relented because even though he was a self admitted asshole, he wasn’t so hard up that he would punch his sister in the face. Anyone else, though, and yeah, they would be on the floor. 

“You need to hear this whether you want to or not.”

“What?”

“You need to know that Ian wouldn’t shut up about this guy he was seeing. He would just light up whenever he mentioned him. It was you all along. You made him so happy. He lo—“

“Enough Mandy. You said your piece, now shut up.”

Mandy let Mickey push her back. He was a step away from slamming his bedroom door shut when he heard her say:

“He loves you.”

Mandy watched in horrified fascination as her brother’s shoulders dropped, his whole body slumping inwards, like he wanted to disappear.

“Shit,” was no more than an exhalation. 

Mandy was halfway into a step forward when Mickey threw the bottle of whiskey against his bedroom wall so hard the glass shattered and the pieces bounced all the way back to the door. 

“Mickey—“

“Just stop.”

His voice sounded thick and wet. If Mandy didn’t know any better, she would have said that her brother was crying with the way he choked on his breath. But that was impossible, he was a Milkovich and Milkovichs didn’t cry. 

Things didn’t make sense. If they had been as happy as Ian made her believe, then what had made things go so wrong her hard-as-nails brother was breaking down over it? 

Mickey didn’t do feelings and he definitely didn’t do love. The closest thing he ever got to affection was a brutal titty twister, never mind the nonexistent terms of endearment. 

She didn’t like what she was seeing. Mickey was acting so out of character that he was actually scaring her. And that’s when she knew.

“You love him, too.”

“Don’t.”

His broken tone was worse than him yelling at her. 

“I don’t understand. If you love Ian why the hell are you getting married to that girl? What the fuck happened?”

Her tone wasn’t harsh, but she saw Mickey flinch at them. His back was still to her, and it was almost like he was afraid to turn around to face her. In all honesty, Mandy was more afraid of what she would see written on his face if he did turn around. Somehow, not looking at one another was better for both of them.

“Terry.”

Their father’s name was said with bitter defeat. 

“I don’t—“

“He caught us. When I told you I wanted the house when he took Iggy and Nicky on that run.”

Mandy felt her stomach drop. She didn’t know what to say but Mickey filled the silence. 

“I didn’t want to fuck that Russian girl. Ian shouldn’t have fucking seen—” Mickey trailed off, unable to finish what he was going to say.

Bile rose in the back of her throat when Mickey said that and she had to cover her mouth to keep from being sick. He didn’t need to say anything else, she knew what happened. She understood the reason Mickey had left Ian battered and bloody. It had been the only way her brother knew how to protect him.

Mickey swayed on his feet, the whiskey making him careless and all his pain rise to the surface. For the last few weeks it had helped him forget, but not today. Not with Mandy asking so many questions and figuring out the fucking mess his life currently was. He couldn’t turn around. He couldn’t look at her. He had promised himself that he would never tell anyone about what happened between him and Ian. What had he done?

He hadn’t realized Mandy had come up behind him. When he felt her put her hand on his shoulder he shrugged out of her reach and backed away. By the time he realized there was no where else for him to run, his back was against the wall and she was directly in front of him. 

Mickey blinked to get the look of empathy on his sister’s face out of his mind but it didn't help. He watched her, unsure of what she was going to do.

She did the unexpected. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into an awkward hug. 

“The fuck are you doing?” he asked quietly, arms locked at his sides, fists clenched and back ramrod straight. 

“You’re my brother and I’m hugging you. Now shut up and let me.”

Mickey wasn’t used to close contact with his siblings, never mind a gesture of comfort. He knew all about sibling bonding from Ian and, quite frankly, he thought it was overrated. He didn’t know what to make of it. Mandy was adamant, her grip on him tightening until it was borderline painful. 

“Who would have thought how close to the truth I was every time I call you assface.”

The joke came out of no where and caught both of them by surprise. Mandy had said it without even thinking and smiled when Mickey barked out a laugh, finally bringing his arms up to grip loosely at her back. 

Mandy allowed a smile to linger on her lips when Mickey buried his face in her neck and continued chuckling. It wasn’t until she felt wetness on her skin did she realize that Mickey wasn’t laughing. 

There were so many things wrong with their family. Their lives were a mess of so many complications, but not this moment. This moment was simple in its honesty and that’s what made it hurt. 

He was shaking and Mandy didn’t remember when he had started to grip her tighter, but she could feel his blunt fingernails digging into her skin. Mandy held on, squeezing him just as roughly. If there was one thing that she knew her brother responded to, it was varying levels of violence. 

Mickey’s breath hitched. Mandy held onto him for all she was worth. She knew what it was like to have Terry take everything away. She knew what it was like to have him so deep inside that everything about who you were withered to nothing. 

Eventually Mickey shoved lightly at her, and she let him go. He was wiping furiously at his face, wiping away tears and snot. 

He cleared his throat.

“Tell anyone about this—“

“Yeah, yeah, yeah—I’ll fucking cut your tongue out, blah, blah, blah,” Mandy teased, a half smirk on her face.

Mickey rolled his eyes and knelt to grab at a shoebox under his bed. He opened it and pulled out a bottle of assorted pills. He tossed it to Mandy. 

“Whatever he doesn't use, bring back.”

Mandy nodded and made to leave. 

“Mandy.”

She turned back.

“Don’t tell him.”

Mandy nodded reluctantly in understanding and left without another word.


End file.
